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Apr 17, 2012

O is for Onomatopoeia - Plus a Freebie!

Today's post is adapted from one I used previously - I've had a lot of dental work this week and am just not zippy with the ideas today.

One of my favourite Onomatopoeia words at the moment is 'nom nom nom', the sound of Zombie Dog eating brains... and for just 2 days you can download MY ZOMBIE DOG for FREE!

Descriptive words that sound like an action or noise when spoken out loud, create the effect of onomatopoeia. For instance, the word to describe water falling in small portions from a tap is called a drip - drip, drip, drip. Poets tend to have a natural talent for using onomatopoeia words, but they can be effective in fiction as well, especially if you're writing for a younger reader.

If you are anything like me, you can sometimes get overwhelmed by all these literary devices and rules that we should be including in our writing. My humble advice is... just write your story, when you go through in your revision you can tighten your plot, characters and writing style. These sound words are simply another way of showing instead of telling.

Imagine writing about a bad guy pointing a gun at his intended victim - instead of saying he shoots its, the simple word. 'BANG' lets the reader know what's going on and can make them feel like they are there. Here's an example of sound words I'm using in The Warracknabeal Kids:

THWAT (slingshot shoot at poor innocent chicken)

AUWK! (sound made by poor innocent chicken)

Sometimes I find examples that I don't think sound like the real action at all (like a dog saying 'woof' or 'Zzzzzz' for snoring). Really listen to actions and try to work out what sound they make, I've used: 'Hmmnn, Hmnnn?' for a puppy's whine. Have some fun with it :-)

You put a comment on Poetry Jam, but did not link a specific poem (using Mr. Linky) that had a 'mystery' theme. You only linked your blog in the comment. Please head back if you have a 'mystery' poem to link.

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About Me

Brisbane author Charmaine Clancy loves to create characters for mystery, fantasy and adventure. All her stories are fictional, except maybe MY ZOMBIE DOG (some say to this day you can hear her dog softly moan the plea 'braaaains').

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NOVELS AND STATUS:

DOGNAPPED? A Dog Show Detective Mystery

*Available in Kindle! Paperback coming soon.

My Zombie Dog*Available in Kindle, Kobo and paperback.

Undead Kev

Following on from Zane's adventures in My Zombie Dog, now Kev is infected! To make matters worse, he is kidnapped by invisible stealth-monkeys and taken to a secret government laboratory. How will the boys get themselves out of this one?*WIP - Final edits - due for release in Oct.

The Warracknabeal Kids - Young scallywag and local copper's son living in rural Victoria in the 30's discovers a murder and tries to uncover the killer.*WIP - Editing for submission to publishers.

The Costume Maker - Three teens travel to another world filled with evil fairies, superstitious gypsies and mysterious natives, oh, and dragons.*Final Edit

Digging Up Death - Dusty Fields is a palaeontologist student who has the gift of seeing how creatures died when she touches their remains.*Finished First Draft

The Pirate Girl - Young Grace enlists the help of a stuffy Duke and a band of Pirates to rescue her father from England's Tower.*WIP First Draft

Egyptian curses, resurrection and dating for the 'modern' teenage goddess.